Trump-led peace process is hollow

U.S. President Donald Trump is not an honest broker in the Ukraine-Russia peace process

Geoffrey P. Johnston

The American-led process to negotiate a just and lasting agreement to end the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine seems like an empty public relations exercise designed to forestall the imposition of tough U.S. sanctions on Russia, giving the aggressor free reign to continue to strike Ukrainian civilian population centres with impunity.

According to Kira Rudik, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is not a good faith actor.  “12 years into the war, some still treat putin as a ‘rational actor’ instead of a war-obsessed terrorist,” Rudik, a member of the Verkhovna Rada(Ukrainian parliament)  and the leader of the Golos Party, observed in a Dec. 29 post. “The facts are: russia isn’t winning at the battlefield, keeps bombing Ukrainian cities, wages hybrid war across Europe, and does so regardless of negotiations, promises, or the illusions of the American President.”

Whilst the Trump administration, which no longer provides meaningful assistance to the Ukrainians, continues to pressure Ukraine to make major concessions to Russia, the American president maintains a cozy, friendly relationship with Putin, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Ukraine needs allies who will help it defeat the Russian invaders—not an American brokered surrender agreement disguised as a peace deal.

Canada and Ukraine

In June of 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted the G7 summit at Kananaskis, AB. And Carney invited Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, to join the talks.

During their bilateral meeting at Kananaskis , Carney told Zelenskyy about Canada’s latest measures to support Ukraine. According to a readout of the meeting issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the measures included: additional sanctions on Russia; an additional $2 billion in new military support to Ukraine; and the disbursement of a $2.3 billion loan in funding to Ukraine, “to help rebuild its infrastructure and public systems.”

Two months later, Carney took to social media to praise Zelenskyy’s inspiring leadership. “President @ZelenskyyUa’s leadership has been extraordinary. For three years, his courage and iron will have galvanized and sustained international support for Ukraine’s fight. Now, allies and partners must intensify our efforts for a just and lasting peace,” the prime minister declared in an Aug. 24 social media post.

That very morning, Carney made a surprise visit to Kyiv to mark Ukrainian Independence Day. “Ukraine is on the frontline in the struggle for freedom and sovereignty. After three years at war, Ukrainians urgently need more military equipment,” Carney stated in another Aug. 24 post. “Canada is answering that call, providing $2 billion for drones, armoured vehicles, and other critical resources.”

Unlike Carney, Trump has yet to visit Ukraine.

Halifax bilateral meeting

Just two days after Christmas, Zelenskyy and Carney met yet again—this time in Halifax.

“Today, Prime Minister Carney welcomed President Zelenskyy to Halifax, marking the President’s second visit to Canada this year,” reads a Dec. 27 statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Describing Ukraine’s fight to defeat Russian invaders as “the frontline of the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism,” the PMO noted that the bilateral meeting came “a crucial point in this horrific war – a time when the combined efforts and might of the United States, Ukraine, European allies, and Canada are creating the conditions for a just and lasting peace.”

“Welcome back to Canada, @ZelenskyyUA,” Prime Minister Carney said in a Dec. 27 social media post. “Today in Halifax, we committed critical new support to help Ukraine end Russia’s war of aggression, and to recover and rebuild. When peace comes — and it will come — Canada will be there for the Ukrainian people. Slava Ukraini.”

“Since Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, full-scale invasion, Canada has provided nearly $22 billion in multifaceted assistance for Ukraine, including over $12 billion in direct financial support – making Canada among the largest contributors to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction,” the PMO statement reads. “As the Ukrainian people endure another winter of Russian aggression, Canada remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine.”

At Halifax, Carney announced an additional $2.5 billion in support for Ukraine. For example, Canadian financing “will enable the International Monetary Fund to lend Ukraine an additional $8.4 billion as part of an extended financing program,” the PMO reveals. Canada is also participating in “extended and expanded debt service suspension for Ukraine, for up to $1.5 billion in 2025-26.” In addition, Canada is providing “a loan guarantee of up to $1.3 billion in 2026 to the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.”

Moreover, the PMO reports that a Canadian loan guarantee of up to $322 million in 2026 to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will “support Ukraine’s gas imports and reinforce its energy security.”

During the bilateral meeting, Carney and Zelenskyy discussed the most recent developments in the peace process, and the prime minister “affirmed Canada’s full support for Ukraine.”

“When I stood with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day this year, I made clear that Canada will stand with Ukraine throughout this horrific war and when peace finally comes,” Carney is quoted as saying in the PMO statement. “To those ends, Canada has committed new support to Ukraine, not only to help end this war, but also to help the Ukrainian people recover and rebuild. Canada stands with Ukraine, because their cause – freedom, democracy, sovereignty – is our cause.”

“Thank you for the meeting, Mark!” Zelenskyy responded in a post of his own.  “Today, I am in Canada, together with Prime Minister @MarkJCarney just as agreed. Together, we are speaking with our friends from Europe. I am grateful for all the support for Ukraine, especially the support for air defense.”

Zelenskyy laid bare Ukraine’s pain caused by Russia’s relentless attacks. “Russia keeps tormenting our cities and our people. Moscow has turned down even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone strikes,” he stated in his post.

“This is a clear signal of how they truly regard diplomacy there,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s terror campaign. “So far, not seriously enough. Therefore, a sufficient level of support for Ukraine is needed. And a sufficient level of pressure on Russia is needed as well.”

Zelenskyy praised the additional assistance announced at Halifax. “It is important that Canada has announced a new assistance package today. It is important that we share common positions on many key issues. Thank you,” the Ukrainian president posted.

After the Halifax summit concluded, Zelenskyy continued on to Florida for a Dec. 28 bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the American leader’s Mar-a-Logo resort.

Christmas week attack on Kyiv

Despite agreeing to every ceasefire proposal put forward by the Trump administration and engaging in good faith with the American president’s unqualified envoys, Ukrainian civilian population centres continue to be bombarded by Russian drones, missiles, and glide bombs. The Russian terror campaign is killing innocents, destroying civilian buildings, and plunging civilians into the darkness and cold during the harsh Ukrainian winter.

As Zelenskyy was preparing for the Halifax and Mar-a-Logo summits, the Russians demonstrated yet again that they are not interested in peace, launching a massive attack on Kyiv.

“On the night of December 27, Russia launched a massive air attack targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure,” reads a social media post from the official account of the Ukrainian Air Force. “The aggressor used 559 air attack assets:  519 Shahed-type UAVs, 10 Iskander-M/Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic/air-launched ballistic missiles, 7 Iskander-K/Kalibr cruise missiles, 21 Kh-101 cruise missiles and 2 Kh-22 cruise missiles.”

“The whole night Kyiv is under attack by missiles and drones. The explosions everywhere. And the attack still continues,” Kira Rudik said on social media. “russia's attack on Kyiv resulted in 22 people injured, 2600 buildings without heating, including 187 kindergartens. This is to anyone who says russia is ready to negotiate.”

In a separate post, Rudik stated: “russia is using winter as a weapon, darkness as a weapon. They seriously hope that Ukraine will give up. They are wrong.”

“There have been many questions over the past few days – so where is Russia’s response to the proposals to end the war offered by the United States and the world? Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and “shaheds” speak for them,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post of the then ongoing attack on Kyiv. “This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle. They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world.”

“This week alone, they launched over 2,100 attack drones, around 800 guided aerial bombs, and 94 missiles of various types,” Zelenskyy said in a Dec. 28 post of the Russians. “All of this was directed against our people, against life itself and everything that sustains its normal functioning – above all, against our energy infrastructure.”

“If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps,” Zelenskyy declared. “The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it.”

International reaction to the bombardment of Kyiv

“Contrary to President Trump’s expectations and despite the readiness to make compromises by @ZelenskyyUa, Russia attacked again Kyiv’s residential districts,” Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, said in a Dec. 27 social media post.

“As President Zelenskyy prepares to meet with President Trump - once again demonstrating Ukraine’s commitment to peace - Russia is escalating its attacks in a deliberate effort to sabotage and poison any serious diplomatic effort to end the war,” Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, posted in response to Kyiv attack.

“During the Christmas season - when families should be together in safety - Moscow once again chose terror over peace. Putin continues to refuse to stop the killing, and the pressure on Russia remains insufficient,” Budrys wrote. “This is not the conduct of a state seeking an end to the war. It is a calculated campaign of terror and escalation. For the Kremlin, genuine peace undermines its imperial ambitions - and that is precisely why it is rejected.”

Similarly, Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, unequivocally condemned the Kyiv attack. “Russia delivers terror, war, death and destruction, while the world marks Christmas in peace,” Braže said in a Dec. 27 post. “Kremlin's brutality targeting residential areas and energy infrastructure, injuring and killing civilians in Ukraine, is visible to all. More pressure on Russia is needed to stop this.”

“As President @ZelenskyyUa meets with world leaders, including PM @MarkJCarney, to secure peace for his country, Russia continues to attack civilians in Ukraine,” Anita Anand, Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada, said in a Dec. 27 post. “Russia struck homes and power infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods over Kyiv as families gathered for the holidays. These acts lay bare the brutal reality of Putin’s unjustifiable war of aggression. Day in and day out for nearly four years. I am in touch with my dear colleague, @andrii_sybiha [Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine], to reiterate that Canada will always stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend against Russia’s unjustifiable attacks.”

Trump is not neutral

In sharp contrast to Zelenskky’s arrival in Halifax, where he was met by Prime Minister Mark Carney, no American delegation greeted the Ukrainian leader when his jet touched down in Florida.

 “Diplomatic tidbit: when Putin arrived in Alaska, a red carpet and the President of the United States awaited him at the tarmac,” Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia (2012-2014), observed in a social media post after the Mar-a-Logo summit had ended. “When Zelenskyy arrived in Florida, no red carpet, no Trump, no Rubio, not even the White House head of protocol.”

Similarly, author and columnist Julia Davis observed in a Dec. 28 social media post that the way in which Zelensky was treated upon his arrival spoke volumes. “No red carpet, no applause, no high-level reps. Trump is hardly ‘neutral,’ his approach is quite transparent,” she posted.

As with previous Trump-Zelenskyy meetings, the American president spoke on the telephone with his friend in the Kremlin before receiving the democratically elected leader of Ukraine.

“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” reads a Dec. 28 a White House social media post, quoting Trump.

That revelation drew sharp responses from Republican and Democratic politicians in the United States. For example, Rep. Don Bacon--the Republican Chair of Cyber Subcommittee and a retired Brig. General, USAF (Ret.)--didn’t mince words. “I hope President Trump made at least these two points to Putin: 1. Putin doesn’t have the cards. Recent Russian military losses underscore this. 2. When will Putin’s Russia have fair and honest elections?” Bacon posted on social media.

In another post that evening, Bacon declared: “As long as Putin refuses to a ceasefire we should be sending LOTS of weapons to Ukraine. Like… 200 cruise missiles.”

“It’s important to know the play Russia is running - likely a subject of this call: they are proposing to put billions in the pockets of Trump’s corporate and billionaire allies if Trump sells out Ukraine in a bogus peace deal,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posted on Dec. 28.

False moral equivalency

During the post-meeting joint press conference with Zelenskyy and Trump, the American president drew an outrageous moral comparison between Ukraine, which only targets legitimate military targets, and Russia, which deliberately attacks civilian targets, including apartment buildings, hospitals, parks, and civilian energy infrastructure.

A reporter said to Trump that Russian attacks on Ukraine demonstrate that Putin is not serious about the peace process. To which Trump responded: “I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also. I don't say that negatively. You probably have to. There have been explosions in various parts of Russia. I don't think it came from the Congo. I don't think it came from the USA.”

“’Both sides’ for invader Russia's daily bombing of Ukrainian civilians and victim Ukraine's strikes on Russian military targets and energy infrastructure,” Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion and former Russian opposition leader, said in a Dec. 28 post in response to Trump. “This isn't diplomacy, it's pure corruption. Just get this charade over with. Europe, are you awake? You're on your own.”

Similarly, Michael McFaul took issue with Trump’s moral equivalency argument.  “Putin invaded Ukraine. Ukraine/NATO never attacked Russia.  Putin annexed territory, terrorized civilians, and kidnapped children from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has done none of these things.  There is a right side and a wrong side in this war.  We should be on the right side,” McFaul posted.

Kremlin talking points

During the joint press conference at Mar-a-Logo, the U.S. president demonstrated once again his willingness to repeat Kremlin talking points. For example, even though Russia has twice invaded Ukraine and continues to bombard Ukrainian civilian population centres and energy infrastructure every night, Trump insisted that “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”

Even Trump seemed to understand how outrageous his assertion sounded. “It sounds a little strange but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices,” Trump said.

“Contrary to [what]Trump said today, Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to succeed. Putin wants Ukraine to become a part of Russia,” McFaul observed in a social media post.

“After a year of Trump-led negotiations, Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia not even discussed anymore, NATO membership off the table, zero US aid to Ukraine, and even pulling Ukrainian troops back from contact line in Donbas now an agenda item,” McFaul said in a separate post.  Not good.”

Summit outcome

“Yesterday we agreed with the President of the United States that we will have strong security guarantees from the United States,” Zelenskyy posted on Dec. 29 of his meeting with Trump. However, he acknowledged that the security guarantees, at present, “are not permanent.”

“In the documents, the guarantees are set for 15 years, with the possibility of extension,” Zelenskyy explained. “I raised this issue with the President. I told him that our war has already been going on for more than a decade, and therefore, we would very much like the guarantees to last longer. We would like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, or 50 years.” According to Zelenskky, Trump said that he would consider the proposal.

“Second, we discussed a package of support for Ukraine’s recovery after the war ends,” Zelenskyy stated in another post. “An economic package. This includes the entry of American business, special conditions for Ukraine’s development and reconstruction, and the development of a free trade agreement with the United States. The President of the United States also confirmed this.”

“As for a withdrawal from Donbas, it is no secret that Russia wants this. In their fantasies, they would like us not to exist on the territory of our own country at all. These fantasies have been around for years,” Zelenskyy wrote in another post. “But we have our own land, our own territorial integrity, our own state, and our own interests. We will act in accordance with the interests of Ukraine.”

Michael McFaul put the Donetsk question into the proper perspective. “Why do so many people think that giving Putin Donbas will satiate his imperial ambitions in Ukraine?  Remember, in February 2022, Putin sent his tanks to Kyiv, not Donetsk,” the former American diplomat posted on Dec. 29.

“The peace cannot come at any cost: no matter how hard it is on the ground, we cannot give away our people to russia just because they happen to live closer,” Kira Rudik of Ukraine’s  Golos Party said in a Dec. 28 post.

Russian false flag

The day after the Trump-Zelenskyy talks in Florida, the Russians alleged, without evidence, that Ukraine had launched a drone attack on one of Putin’s palatial estates. “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Ukraine tried to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region, and so Moscow's negotiating position would be reviewed,” reads a Dec. 29 post from RTÉ News and Current Affairs, which presents Irish and international news.

During a Dec. 29 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump expressed anger over the alleged attacked. When pressed by a reporter about the veracity of the Russian claim, Trump responded: “You're saying maybe the attack didn't place? That's possible too, I guess. But President Putin told me this morning it did.”

Zelenskyy was quick to respond to the Russian allegation. “Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump's team. We keep working together to bring peace closer,” the Ukrainian president said in a Dec. 29 post.

“This alleged ‘residence strike’ story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war. Typical Russian lies,” Zelenskyy continued. “Furthermore, the Russians have already targeted Kyiv in the past, including the Cabinet of Ministers building.”

“It is critical that the world doesn’t stay silent now,” said Zelenskyy, appealing for international solidarity. “We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace.

“Typical Russian tactic: Distort, Distract, Dismay, Dismiss. It’s used to muddy truth, shift blame, and create confusion to discredit opponents and control narratives,” Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, said in a Dec 29 social media post of the unsubstantiated Russian allegation of a Ukrainian attack on one of Putin’s residences. “The kremlin butcher needs war, not peace, to justify existence, hanging to power, suppressing basic freedoms.”

Conclusion

No matter what, Prime Minister Mark Carney has made it clear that Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine.

“I spoke with European leaders this morning on the latest efforts to advance Ukraine’s security and recovery,” Carney posted on Dec. 30. “We support the efforts of President Trump and President Zelenskyy to reach a negotiated settlement and we stand ready to provide robust security guarantees for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”